“I still have to pinch myself – I’M IN HOLBY!”
EX-EMMERDALE STAR GEMMA OATEN IS OVER THE MOON TO BE IN HER FAVOURITE TV SHOW...
It’s not unusual to see former soap regulars popping up in Holby for a guest role, and the latest recruit is Dales actress Gemma Oaten – aka Rachel Breckle – who arrives as agency nurse Sydney Summers this week. The star tells us that appearing in the medical drama is a dream come true for her.
“My two favourite shows growing up were Emmerdale and Holby City, and now I’ve been in them both – I still have to pinch myself!” gushes Gemma, who joins us fresh from a holiday in Marrakech. “It’s been two years since I left Emmerdale, and I didn’t realise how much I missed having that family unit. But everyone at
Holby was just so lovely, and welcomed me to the cast with open arms.”
Sadly, the same can’t be said for sneaky Sydney, who ruffles feathers from the get-go! We probed Gemma for the goss…
What can you tell us about Sydney?
She’s feisty and witty – and she definitely gives poor Fletch a shock when she first arrives. But there are a lot of things that lie beneath the surface with Sydney, so don’t judge a book by its cover!
And do we know what her connection to Fletch is?
It’s quite quickly revealed that she’s the daughter of Artem, a patient who died recently and left all of his money to Fletch. Things will unravel after that… but I’m afraid I can’t say much more.
Spoilsport! What was it like working so closely with the lovely Alex Walkinshaw, who plays Fletch?
It was brilliant – it was like a masterclass in TV acting, because there’s nothing that Alex doesn’t know. But he did wind me up a treat over my accent! When my
Holby role was first announced, people tweeted me asking if I would be using my own accent, and I replied, “Yes, but don’t worry, there will be subtitles”!
Did you know anyone else in the Holby cast before you joined?
I met David Ames, who plays Dom, during London Pride – we were on the same float together. I just think he’s wonderful, so I didn’t like seeing him go through a tough time on screen with Isaac. Also Kaye Wragg, who plays Essie, was up for the role of my sister [Ali Spencer] in Emmerdale, so there were a lot of little connections like that.
And how did you fare playing a nurse? Were you okay with all the blood and guts that comes with it?
Erm, not really – it’s gross! I had to put up with quite a lot of horrible things, so that will probably have my family laughing their heads off when they watch it. I know it’s not real, but I don’t want anything red and squelchy near me!
Do you know if your old pals from Emmerdale will be tuning in?
I hope so – they’re all still very much a part of my life. I saw Sian Reese-williams [Gennie Sharma] recently, and a group of us are going to see Tom Lister [Carl King] in 42nd Street in London soon. It’s dead funny when people spot me and Alicya Eyo [who played Ruby Haswell] out together – they do a double take!
Do you enjoy it when members of the public come up and chat to you?
Yeah, it’s really nice. People always ask, “Don’t you get bored of it?”, but why would I? This is not an easy industry, and it’s such a privilege when somebody comes up to you and says, “Oh, I enjoyed you in Emmerdale” or “I’m looking forward to seeing you in Holby”. It’s very flattering.
The cast of Emmerdale are all very much part of my life